Portrait of a Man (Mantegna)
Encyclopedia
Portrait of a Man is a painting attributed to the Italian Renaissance
artist Andrea Mantegna
. It is housed in the National Gallery of Art
, Washington, DC, USA.
The panel is documented for the first time in 1906, in a private collection at Gaál
, Hungary
. Later it was part of collections in Budapest
, Paris
and then New York
. In 1950 it was acquired by the Samuel H. Kress
, becoming part of the National Collection.
It has been attributed also to Giovanni Bellini
or to an unknown pupil of Mantegna.
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
artist Andrea Mantegna
Andrea Mantegna
Andrea Mantegna was an Italian painter, a student of Roman archeology, and son in law of Jacopo Bellini. Like other artists of the time, Mantegna experimented with perspective, e.g., by lowering the horizon in order to create a sense of greater monumentality...
. It is housed in the National Gallery of Art
National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden is a national art museum, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, in Washington, DC...
, Washington, DC, USA.
History
The work is generally dated to the same years of the Camera degli Sposi, or anyway from the 1460s-1470s, due to the similarities of the subject with one of the characters portrayed there.The panel is documented for the first time in 1906, in a private collection at Gaál
Gaal
Gaal is a minor 12th century BCE biblical character, introduced in the 9th chapter of Judges in the Bible as the son of Ebed. His story is told in Judges 9:26-41. Gaal had occupied Shechem and boasted to Zebul, the ruler of Shechem, that he could defeat Abimelech. Zebul warned Abimelech of Gaal's...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. Later it was part of collections in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and then New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. In 1950 it was acquired by the Samuel H. Kress
Samuel H. Kress
Samuel Henry Kress was a businessman and philanthropist, founder of the S. H. Kress & Co. five and ten cent store chain. With his fortune, Kress amassed one of the most significant collections of Italian Renaissance and European artwork assembled in the 20th century...
, becoming part of the National Collection.
It has been attributed also to Giovanni Bellini
Giovanni Bellini
Giovanni Bellini was an Italian Renaissance painter, probably the best known of the Bellini family of Venetian painters. His father was Jacopo Bellini, his brother was Gentile Bellini, and his brother-in-law was Andrea Mantegna. He is considered to have revolutionized Venetian painting, moving it...
or to an unknown pupil of Mantegna.